FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, April 22, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding Station Casinos continues union busting (Sunset Station):
Station Casinos has history of union busting:
Station Casinos has a long and shameful history of anti-worker behavior, and of losing.
In 2020, the company withdrew recognition of the Culinary and Bartenders Unions at Palace and Boulder, an action that the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleges is illegal. Documents produced during a hearing show that Station Casinos had direct involvement in organizing employees against the union (see the management interference in the below text messages).
According to the NLRB, an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act by encouraging, promoting, or providing assistance to employees seeking to decertify their union.
Here is a sample of subpoenaed Station Casinos text messages that were produced in on-going proceedings where Station Casinos is accused of violating federal law:
*On 1/11/2020, Dave Horn (GM of Palace) texts a colleague: “Phil says to get me the names of the people who can help with decertification but don't get directly involved.”
*On 6/25/2020, Jordan Seager (GM of Sunset) texts Phil Fortino:
Seager: Hey Phil. How do I get information on attending one of the decertification meetings?
Fortino: I would suggest I come to your property next week and discuss with you and your key execs.
Seager: Ok, that sounds great! I will have Amarilys set it up. She said she thought the meeting with you went well and she has come back inspired. Inspired me actually
*On 9/22/2020 Dave Horn (GM of Palace) texts Terry:
Horn: “I got the dertification of the Union completed. We submitted to them yesterday. Fucking lost part of my life in taht process. Craziest deal ever.”
Terry: “Awesome, congratulations! You have to be approaching golden boy status.”
Station Casinos is once again trying to bust a union…this time at Sunset Station:
Workers at Sunset Station Casinos voted by 83% to unionize on June 13, 2019. That was the only official vote the property ever had and it was overseen by the federal government. Workers voted in a landslide majority in favor of unionizing.
On April 19, Station Casinos withdrew recognition from the Culinary and Bartenders Union as the bargaining representatives at Sunset Station. Just as with Palace and Boulder, Culinary Union believes it has done so unlawfully. The Culinary Union will file an unfair labor practice charge regarding the withdrawal and will continue to demand that the company negotiate in good faith towards a union contract. Union busting is disgusting, and the Culinary Union urges Station Casinos to do better.
The same day as it withdrew recognition, Station Casinos announced that Sunset Station employees would now enjoy certain enhanced benefits that the company has offered only to non-union employees since January 2023. Culinary Union agreed, in December 2022, that Station Casinos should give the enhanced benefits to unionized workers at Sunset, Green Valley Ranch, and Red Rock Casino on equal terms as non-union employees. But the company still refuses to do the right thing and uses its weaponized benefit discrimination scheme in its union busting campaign.
Despite its recent actions, Station Casinos will lose again.
Station Casinos, its parent company Red Rock Resorts Inc., and its properties face a series of NLRB cases that together constitute one of the largest labor law enforcement actions in history. A federal Administrative Law Judge has ordered 4 days of hearings beginning July 30, 2024, in an on-going Unfair Labor Practice trial over a complaint issued in April 2021, where government attorneys accuse Station Casinos of unlawful discrimination, engaging in a scheme to use employee layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic to undermine unionizing efforts, and unlawfully withdrawing recognition from the union at Palace and Boulder Station.
Station Casinos, the operating subsidiary of Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ: RRR), is controlled by billionaires Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. Members of the Fertitta family have been major supporters of Donald Trump and other Republicans, including to unsuccessful political candidates and campaigns: Team McConnell ($292,000 in September 2022), Adam Laxalt for Senate ($46,400 in 2021), April Becker for Congress ($23,200 in 2021), and the Take Back the House 2022 PAC ($303,600 in September 2022). Station Casinos parent company, Red Rock Resorts Inc, which caters to Las Vegas locals in one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., is the only publicly-traded Nevada gaming company with an all-white and all-male board of directors.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 89 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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